Bills owner Ralph Wilson dies at 95

BUFFALO, New York (AP) — Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, who helped found the American Football League in 1960, died at his home on Tuesday afternoon. He was 95.

Bills president Russ Brandon made the announcement at the NFL winter meetings in Orlando.

Wilson was the founder and sole owner of the Bills after establishing the team with the upstart AFL in 1960. He played a key role in the league merger’s with the NFL. He was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Wilson died at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. He had been receiving in-home hospice care.

“No one loves this game more than Ralph Wilson,” Brandon said, in a statement released by the team. “It’s very tough. What he’s’ meant to the entire organization. He’s our leader, our mentor our friend. How he loves his players and loved our community. Special guy. They just don’t make them like Ralph Wilson. They just don’t.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in Orlando, and Associated Press writer Mike Householder in Detroit contributed to this report.